Two police officers allowed a mentally ill man to die in front of them after neglecting their duty while detaining him, a court has heard.
PCs Maurice Leigh and Neil Bowdery of Kent police pleaded not guilty to misconduct in public office over the death of Colin Holt, who had paranoid schizophrenia.
Holt, 52, died from positional asphyxia at his flat in Gillingham, Kent, on 30 August 2010 after officers were called to return him to hospital, as he was subject to a Mental Health Act order.
Maidstone crown court heard that Leigh, 54, and Bowdery, 29, acted with "reckless indifference" towards Holt by failing to reposition him and check on his welfare after he had stopped struggling.
Duncan Penny, prosecuting, said it was the crown's case that the officers' conduct fell so far below acceptable standards that it amounted to "an abuse of the public's trust".
He told jurors: "Neither officer is accused of being responsible for his death. But each is accused of the offence of misconduct in a public office. Because, as they stood over him, having detained him following a struggle, each neglected his duty, each failed to take reasonable and proper care of him and, through that neglect – though plainly not with that intention – allowed him to die in front of them without taking action to seek to prevent it."
The officers "owed a duty of care" to Holt when they detained him, he said.
Two days before his death, Holt was admitted to the Medway Maritime hospital and detained there for assessment under section 2 of the Mental Health Act.
But some 48 hours later, Holt, who was on medication for his condition, went missing, prompting police to check his flat to return him to hospital.
After knocking on Holt's door and getting no answer, Leigh and a colleague went in through the unlocked door and found Holt sitting in an armchair.
Holt pretended he was someone else but when he was asked to produce a passport proving his identity, he became aggressive towards the officers. A struggle ensued. Penny said Holt threw Leigh's colleague, PC Reeves, towards a television, causing both men to fall to the floor.
Emergency backup was requested and Holt was eventually handcuffed, with his arms behind his back, and brought up to an armchair so he could not lash out again.
Other officers, including Bowdery, arrived at the property and Holt was seen to be handcuffed and leaning over an armchair, the court heard.
At one point, as an officer shouted out to Holt asking where the fuse box was, Leigh is said to have replied with words to the effect of: "I wouldn't bother, he's out cold."
Penny also said Bowdery claimed Holt was pretending to be unconscious. "You will have to consider whether, in the period leading up to that remark, PC Bowdery was in reality neglecting his duty," he told jurors.
"Given the position in which Mr Holt had been being restrained – that is, face down into the chair – such an observation indicates that Mr Holt was not being cared for in the way he should have been."
As another officer got closer to Holt, he noticed that he had vomited and appeared lifeless. The officer, PC Brett, shouted: "Fuck, who was checking on him?"
Penny said: "Those words, of course, have their own significance. PC Brett, at least, appears to have been well aware of the ongoing duty to check on the welfare of a man detained and restrained in the way Mr Holt was."
The case continues.